


Summer Solstice

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Series: Adventures in Egypt [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 01:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15207719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: The Doctor and Sarah arrive in Memphis on summer solstice.





	Summer Solstice

 “Looks like we’ve arrived at an opportune time,” Sarah remarked of the decorations along the entrance street of the north part of Memphis. She shifted on the saddle behind the Doctor in anticipation of getting down from their camel.

 “Hm… Certainly looks that way. I wonder what for?” the Doctor asked, glancing around for signs of a stable.

 They found the stable a couple minutes later, and patted Ajat’s neck as they left him with the stable boy. The Doctor inquired of the boy, “Is there a special occurrence today?” He waved vaguely across the way.

 The stable boy looked at them in slight disbelief, and answered, “The rising of the Star of Isis. You did not know?”

 “Sorry,” Sarah replied with a little smile. “We travel a lot, and lose track of time.”

 The boy’s expression softened. “That is fair.” At the couple’s request, he also gave them instructions to the nearest inn.

 The Doctor and Sarah shouldered their bags, and took each other’s hand as they followed the directions. The Timelord mused, “An important star rising… We arrived in early summer… Summer solstice, that’s got to be it.”

 “Impeccable timing,” Sarah remarked, lightly squeezing his hand. Her head nodded to the rhythm of a nearby drummer and flutist.

 They rented a room, and laid in the bed together, stretching the kinks from their bodies caused by spending hours on Ajat.

 Once that was satisfied, Sarah turned onto her side to face the Doctor. “Ready to join the festivities?”

 “Of course,” the Doctor grinned.

 “Hold on a minute.” Sarah sat up and reached into her travel bag for the container of black eye makeup and the small application tool. “Yours has worn off a bit.”

 The Doctor sat up and let Sarah reapply the eyeliner on him. Then he returned the favor for her, letting her know he was done by nipping at her nose.

 Sarah squeaked, and shook her head. “Alright, that’s enough, you. Come on.”

 Hand-in-hand, they left the inn and ventured further into the celebrating city, simply enjoying the sights and sounds of everything. The crowd thickened the closer they got to the city’s center, in anticipation for a grand procession, the Doctor guessed.

 A stallkeeper beckoned them over, for free wine samples. “Don’t mind if we do,” Sarah agreed, pulling the Timelord with her. She read the labels in front of the jugs. “Shedeh wine? Nedjem?”

 “Different flavors?” the Doctor suggested into her ear.

 “All good,” the stallkeeper assured.

 “We’ll take a cup of shedeh and nedjem,” the Doctor said. “Try them both.” He handed the cup of shedeh wine to Sarah.

 “Oh…” Sarah breathed after taking a tasting sip. She took a longer one. “That’s heavenly. There’s honey in it.”

 “Hm… this one’s nice,” the Doctor commented.

 “Made with sun-dried grapes, that one,” the wine seller informed.

 Sarah switched cups with the Doctor. They both decided the honeyed wine was more to their tastes, and bought two full cups to drink. They sat on the ground, enjoying the atmosphere.

 The Doctor leaned into Sarah’s space, to pull her into a kiss. Sarah giggled at the honey-sweetened taste of his mouth. When they were finished, they handed the empty cups back, and continued down the street towards a groups of musicians and people dancing.

 A circle had been formed around two women, who danced together with one arm above them. The Doctor and Sarah joined in the circle, clapping along with everyone else to the drum and lute.

 When the two women bowed out of the center of the circle, Sarah found herself gently pushed in. “Oh, I don’t know…” she weakly protested to the crowd around her.

 “I know you’re graceful,” the Doctor encouraged, among the other people saying she should dance.

 “Oh, alright then,” Sarah relented with a smile. She took a few seconds to get the feel of the music, then started swaying and twirling, taking some inspiration from the two women from before, and adding her own movements.

 Then she closed her eyes and really let go of any insecurities of dancing in the street like this, simply letting the music and energy of the crowd spur her on.

 Sarah opened her eyes when a large familiar hand grabbed hers and spun her into an equally familiar body. “Glad you decided to join me,” she remarked as the Doctor stepped back and twirled her under his arm.

 “Couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

 Sarah took both of the Doctor’s hands, and they stepped in together, and stepped out in unison. Keeping one hand in the other’s and between them as a fulcrum, they side-skipped in a circle, waving their free hands above their heads.

 Before Sarah could get dizzy from the centrifugal motion, she tugged on the Timelord’s hand, and he obeyed, stepping towards her again. He smoothly took her by the waist and transferred into a sort of waltz with her.

 Sarah slid one arm around the Doctor’s waist, and they slowly began circling each other again, bodies swaying to the music, and feet in time with the drumming.

 It was as though they had slipped into their own little world, focused only on each other. Blue eyes locked with hazel eyes, a cooler arm around Sarah’s waist, and a warmer one around the Doctor’s. A quiet intimate intensity crackled between them, born of their deep relationship and the life they shared.

 Eventually, they both felt their dance come to an end, and they finished by the Doctor scooping her up and lifting her into the air. She lowered her forehead to his as they spun around a few times.

 The end of the dance was met with appreciative applause, and the couple bowed before leaving the middle of the circle. Three children replaced them, and they stayed to watch for a few minutes, clapping along with the crowd.

 The Doctor and Sarah left the group, in search of some food. They found someone selling fruit and bread nearby. As the Doctor sorted that out, Sarah turned at the touch on her shoulder.

 “Yes?” Sarah asked of the young Egyptian woman.

 “You and he are lovers or married, yes?” she inquired. “I saw you dance.”

 “Yes, we are.” Sarah looked down at the object that was pressed into her hand. It was a carving of a lotus flower, half the size of her hand, with a tiny hole at the top for a cord to be attached to.

 “May the gods bless you both in this time of renewal and may you always find happiness in your lives.”

 “Thank you,” Sarah smiled at the gesture of kindness. “May they bless you, as well.”

 The woman bowed her head and walked away.

 The Doctor turned to Sarah with a small loaf of bread and a handful of figs. “Always nice to be blessed,” he remarked, having overheard what had happened.

 Sarah looked down at the amulet. “She asked if we were married, so it wouldn’t surprise me if part of that blessing was about fertility or something.” She placed it into the small bag on her belt. She was grateful for the gift, and everything it meant.

 “Possible,” the Doctor chuckled. He led her over to a quiet spot near the road where they could eat.

 “Nothing like a city-wide celebration to get your mood up,” Sarah commented.

 “Such things are much more… somber affairs on Gallifrey,” the Doctor shrugged. “Another reason I like Humans so much.”

 Sarah hummed her acknowledgment of the compliment around the fruit in her mouth.

 After eating, they made their way closer to the center of Memphis, crossing through a shallow stretch of water to the other side of the road. They didn’t mind getting their legs and clothes wet, since it was a nice way to cool off in the heat.

 The pair joined the throng of eager people along the main thoroughfare, and watched the grand procession with delight.

 They stayed out among the festivities well into the evening, nowhere else they’d rather be.


End file.
